As you sail into the harbor, approaching the Gateway of India, the magnificence of The Taj Mahal Palace & Towers overwhelms you. It is a stunning beauty, overlooking the Gateway and the Arabian Sea. The distinctive red-tiled Florentine Gothic dome of the hotel at Apollo Bunder crowns its elegant Indo-Saracenic arches and architraves.Since 16th December, 1903, when the hotel was first opened to guests, its striking dome has served as the triangulation point for the Indian Navy to guide them in to the harbor. For the last more than 114 years, the iconic hotel has played host to royalty, and many celebrities and dignitaries from across the world, including Emperor George V and wife Queen Mary, Edward, Prince of Wales, Albert Einstein, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Beatles John Lenon and George Harrison, the Clintons, former US President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, to name only a few. It is a destination of choice for anyone travelling to Mumbai, whether for business or for leisure. Such is its reputation and recognition, that one does not need a board

On the building for people to know that this is The Taj, the temple of hospitality! The building initself represents the world class services and amenities of the Taj group.

In a path-breakinginitiative, Taj Hotels Palaces Resorts Safaris has secured image trademark registration for the elegant hotel building and its characteristic dome from the Trademarks Registry in India. The hotel became the first ever building in India to secure such unique registration. With thispioneering initiative, the hotel joined an elite club of amazing buildings from around the world that have successfully protected their Intellectual Property Rights in such a unique and unusual manner by securing trademark registration for their architecture. This list includes many wellknown buildings of the world, such as The Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, Sydney Opera House etc. That our very own Taj has joined such a league is a matter of pride for the company and its employees, as also for every Indian. The Indian Trademarks registry and the inhouse and external lawyers of Taj created history and can justifiably beam in pride of their achievement.

The India Business Law Journal has reported the registration of the image trademark for the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai as one of the ten Star Deals in India in the year 2017. The India Business Law Journal says that the criteria for such selection was “the novelty and complexity of the transaction or case and for any precedents that may have been established.” And, what a shining precedent it is! The development was reported by the International Trademark Association (INTA) in its bulletin and has also been applauded by prominent IP lawyers and legal journals.

This trademark registration is a milestone not just in the history of the legendary hotel, but also in the development of the Trademarks law in India. Such a registration was never obtained earlier for an Indian building. Thus, it is an extremely innovative, unusual and path-breaking endeavor. The registration has brought in focus the domain of ‘unconventional’ trademarks. It is extremely common to register ‘conventional’ trademarks like words or logos, i.e. “brands”. However, the ambit of trademarks is much wider than mere brands (viz. sound, colours, shapes, fragrance etc.). Nevertheless, one does not come across many instances of registration of unconventional trademarks.

Section 2 (1) (zb) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 defines Trademark as “… a mark capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one person from those of others and may include shape of goods, their packaging and combination of colours.” Thus, anything which can be graphically represented and is capable of distinguishing the goods/services of one person from those of another can be registered as a trademark.

Section 2 (1) (m) of the Indian Trade Marks Act, 1999 defines a “Mark” as follows:

“(m) “mark” includes a device, brand, heading, label, ticket, name, signature, word, letter, numeral, shape of goods, packaging or combination of colours or any combination thereof;”

The definition of a “mark” being an inclusive definition, and not an exhaustive one, one has to be guided by its dictionary meaning. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “mark” as a “symbol used for identification or indication of ownership”. Consequently, any mark / symbol that (a). is capable of indicating ownership, (b). which can be graphically represented and (c). is capable of distinguishing the goods/services of one person from those of another, is a trademark, and can be protected as such. The world of Intellectual Property has some instances of registration of such unconventional intellectual property. For example, the MGM lion roar, which precedes its movies, the Yahoo! yodel, the distinctive shaped glass bottle of Coca Cola etc. All these are trademarks in themselves and have been protected as such.

In a crowded market place, quality of goods and services is no longer a differentiator. This is where unconventional trademarks can play an important role, to enable products of one company to standout against competition and attract consumer attention. Hopefully, this path-breaking initiative by Taj to register its hotel building as a Trademark will spur many other initiatives in India to develop and protect unconventional IP.

The iconic hotel of the Taj group has many firsts to its credit. Mumbai’s first licensed bar, bearing license no. 1 – the Harbour Bar – opened at this iconic hotel. India’s first 24-hour coffee shop, Shamiana, opened at this hotel. India’s first Sichuan restaurant, Golden Dragon, opened here. Now this unique trademark protection has added another first to this well-known landmark of Mumbai.